Sous chef exploring the food culture in NYC…and beyond!

Pork

We had some scorching hot days this summer! The kind of heat that makes you not want to venture out from your air-conditioned dwelling to do anything but find refuge from the weather at another location. I found myself out, on one of the milder days, taking a walk on the High Line. I noticed the increased presence of food carts on this aboveground park. I decided to cool off and get a Mexican popsicle, a paletas, from the LaNewYorkina cart. I got a mango/chile paletas, and as I sat on the bench to bite into it, I thought it would be great to have these food options in other city parks. Normally, if you want sit in the park and eat you have to BYOB, and I usually don’t get hungry until I’m already in the park.

What do you get when you stuff a ‘hot dog’ into a baguette? Dogmatic has turned the common ‘hot dog on a bun’ into a gourmet meal. Dogmatic’s motto is, “Good Food that’s Fast for You.” After all, their meat, chicken and pork are hormone-free, grass-fed and free-range. I ordered a ‘sausage dog,’ which is served in a hollowed-out roll. Instead of mustard or ketchup you can choose from a selection of gourmet sauces that go inside the hollowed-out roll before the ‘sausage dog’ is placed in.

Side options include: non-fried fries or cheese fries, truffle mac ‘n cheese and some healthier fare, in the form of, grilled asparagus or tomato and basil salad. I had to try the truffle mac ‘n cheese to see how it compared, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was rich and creamy and served in a small cup – just enough so I would feel the affects of carb-loading with all the pasta and bread I consumed. And you can top off your meal with one of their handmade sodas, made some fruit purees, and offering some not so common flavors – ginger, coconut and pomegranate. And being nutritionally responsible, even though Dogmatic isn’t required to, they have the menu’s nutritional facts listed on their Web site – listing calories, fat/gm and sodium content! Impressive!